The purposes of the present invention are manifold. In the first instance, the present invention provides a novel means for securing panels of various sorts, to I-beams, and typically, to the ends of I-beams. Such securement may, for example, be in respect of various items, such as display panels and the like which are mounted to store fronts, and so on. However, the present invention was primarily developed so as to mount trailer fairings at the sides of cargo trailers, and thereby improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the cargo trailers to which the trailer fairings are mounted. A particular feature of the present invention however, is that it permits the securement of a trailer fairing at each side of a cargo trailer using minimal time, minimal number and types of components, and using minimal labour. As a result, the efficiency of the installation process is improved, and the costs of such an operation are decreased. It will be appreciated that such savings can be quite substantial, particularly in cases where a fleet of cargo trailers is to be modified to include trailer fairings. In such cases, the number of cargo trailers may be in the tens, hundreds, or even thousands of units.
As background, the benefits of improving the aerodynamic characteristics of cargo trailers are well known. However, some of such benefits are worthy of being mentioned at this time. They include the fact that it has been shown that the aerodynamic performance of a cargo trailer having trailer fairings mounted thereon, may be such as to permit fuel savings for the road tractor towing such an enhanced cargo trailer by up to 6.5%. Indeed, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established standards according to which it will grant the manufacturer of trailer fairings the right to advise its customers, and the public, that the trailer fairings are “EPA Smartway compliant”.
Moreover, trailer fairings of the sort that are contemplated by the present invention for mounting to cargo trailers using the clamp assembly disclosed herein, are modular in design and construction so that a given number of trailer fairings panels, which are generally all alike one to another, may be easily mounted or secured to a cargo trailer. Typically, depending on the length of the cargo trailer and the placement of the wheel bogies thereunder, a single sheet of fairing material is used on each side of the trailer. However, in a modular design, up to five to ten, or more, modular panels (which may be interconnected) may be employed, per side of the trailer.
Further, the clamp assembly is readily and easily installed on new trailers, but can be easily retrofitted to older trailers, and the like. As such, it will also be understood, of course, that the clamp assemblies of the present invention may be employed in their particularly intended use with cargo trailers of any age, new or old.
As will become apparent hereafter, employment of the clamp assembly of the present invention absolutely precludes the necessity for drilling or welding of any sort when mounting any panel whatsoever to the end of an I-beam. This is particularly important in the intended use of the clamp assembly of the present invention when mounting trailer fairings to cargo trailers, because considerable time and labour costs are saved, and because the integrity of the I-beams to which the trailer fairings are attached is not compromised in any manner whatsoever.
Still further, it will become evident that it is a simple matter to use the clamping assembly of the present invention to replace a sheet fairing or any one of a series of modular panels forming a trailer fairing, in the event of damage or for other reasons. This can also include replacement of any prior art clamp assemblies which secure the sheet or modular fairing panels to a cargo trailer, without the necessity of having to do any significant work on any adjacent clamps and/or modular panels.
It will also be understood that not only should the materials from which the clamp assemblies to secure trailer fairings to cargo trailers, but the material of the trailer fairings themselves, must at the same time embody the characteristics of rigidity and yet, in respect of the modular panels of a trailer fairing, they must have a certain amount of flexibility. The rigidity of the clamp assembly in keeping with the present invention comes as a matter of design and the employment of a ribbed structure as is well known to those skilled in the art. Likewise, rigidity and yet flexibility of modular panels of a trailer fairing, comes as a consequence of the employment of a suitable material of a suitable thickness, as is well-known to those skilled in the art, optionally together with the employment of a suitable brace or strut as will also become apparent hereafter.